Gay ex-NFL player Kwame Harris comes out exclusively via CNN interview, as shown in the video below. Harris, 31, is a retired American football offensive tackle who played six seasons in the National Football League (NFL), and was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers in the first round of the 2003 NFL Draft.

As featured on CNN Newsroom this Friday, March 29, 2013, ex-NFL player Coy Wire was interviewed by Fredricka Whitfield. Coy talked about his former Stanford Cardinal teammate Kwame Harris, who admitted for the first time in public that he is gay, and was recently outed by the local media.

“I love football. Football provided me with some experiences and some opportunities that I wouldn’t trade for anything else. But at the same time, the cost was great in asking me to not speak candidly or be able to be open about myself in this complete manner.” Harris told Wire in an exclusive CNN interview, aired this Friday morning.

“No, not while I was playing. I didn’t see those two things as being compatible. But now when I look back in hindsight, if I could have done it differently, I would like to think that I would find the strength or find the fortitude or the grace to kind of make the hard decision.” Harris said on why he did not come out during his NFL days.

“I want people — whether they’re gay athletes or athletes who are still in the closet or youth who aren’t quite sure of what their sexuality is — to realize that not only is that not unique but those feelings are common feelings. Don’t feel incredibly alone in having these questions.” Harris said further.

Harris, who retired in 2010, was in the headlines last January after an alleged alteration with a former boyfriend generated headlines in January. The incident reportedly took outside a Menlo Park restaurant in August 2012, and the 6’ 7” gay ex-NFL player pleaded not guilty and posted a $75,000-bail.